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Poles

Key Stage 2

Meaning

There are two poles on a magnet.

A pole is one end of a magnet.

About Poles

The pole on a magnet can be a north seeking pole or a south seeking pole.
Two like poles will repel each other: North-North and South-South.
Two opposite poles will attract each other: North-South.
MagnetRepel.gif
MagnetAttract.gif
Two magnets facing North-North will repel each other and two magnets facing South-South will repel each other. Two magnets facing North-South will attract each other.

Key Stage 3

Meaning

A pole is one end of a magnet.

About Poles

The pole on a magnet can be a north seeking pole or a south seeking pole.
Two like poles will repel each other: North-North and South-South.
Two opposite poles will attract each other: North-South.

Key Stage 4

Meaning

A pole is point on a magnet where the most dense region of magnetic field lines enter the magnet.

About Poles

The pole on a magnet can be a north seeking pole or a south seeking pole.
Two like poles will repel each other: North-North and South-South.
Two opposite poles will attract each other: North-South.
A compass can be used to identify the poles on an magnet as it will point towards the South Seeking pole and away from the North Seeking pole.
BarMagnetCompass.png
MagneticFieldEarthCompass.png
ElectromagnetCompass.png
The red point of the compass points towards the South Seeking Pole of the magnet. This diagram shows that the 'North Pole' of Earth is the South Seeking Pole of a magnet. This diagram shows that when current enters the coil clockwise, that is the South Seeking Pole of a magnet.

References

AQA

Poles, magnetic, page 221, GCSE Physics, Hodder, AQA
Poles, magnetic, pages 275, GCSE Combined Science Trilogy 2, Hodder, AQA